28 Oct These LEGO-style blocks teach kids to code like a pro

A Hong Kong-based startup has come up with a LEGO-compatible set of electronic blocks which teaches children to code whilst playing.

The blocks allow children to build amazing interactive constructs which, aside from giving kids a hell of a good time, also teaches them the logic behind mechanics, coding and electricity.

Honeycomb, as the novel product is called, is comprised of hexagonal blocks with snappy magnetic connectors which allow children from 5 and up to create hundreds of thousands of functional combinations.

The ingenious blocks are Open-source and fully LEGO compatible, enabling users not only to combine them with the hundreds of LEGO kits already available in the market, but also permitting Honeycomb owners to develop their own software and expand their functionality.

[embedded content]

While our knowledge about the inner workings of the brain is still in its infancy, current research points out that play activities shape its structural design. Encouraging a child to play provides active exploration, which helps build and strengthen the brain’s pathways.

Half toy, half STEM teaching aid, Honeycomb is part of a new batch of products – h – aiming not only to entertain children but to develop the whole array of their cognitive skills.

This type of product shifts the traditional focus of common toys, which perceive children as mere consumers of information, towards encouraging them to proactively modify their environment and invent things which don’t exist.

The Honeycomb blocks are designed in three colors depending on their functions;

The green blocks represent the input in a chain of command. The blue blocks represent a set of conditions, and the orange ones are the output.

You can build almost anything with this, from tiny LEGO vacuum cleaners to your own army of robots.

[embedded content]

The company is currently raising funds throughout an Indiegogo campaign, with available perks from $60 for a basic kit to $162 for a combo of two kits with VR glasses.

A basic kit of Honeycomb blocks includes eight modules, a fan, one servo, one battery and one LED light bar.

Fancy being a parent to the next Elon Musk? The kit will be retailing at $139, so snatch this up ASAP through their crowdfunding campaign.